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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Happy birthday, Pier Giorgio Frassati!

Kristen at The Love of Christ Impels Us reminds us to celebrate the 110th birthday of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a wonderful model and witness for youth:

Today Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati would have turned 110 years old! Bl. Pier Giorgio is a favorite of mine because he was a normal young adult who enjoyed spending time with friends, hiking, mountain climbing etc., but also exhibited extraordinary holiness throughout his short life. He is such a great example of how we are all called to be saints - literally. Everyone is called to holiness from the small child to the teen to the young adult to the grandpa. Bl. Pier Giorgio was only 24 years old when he died and yet his life has made such an impact on the world. Pope John Paul II called him a "man of the beatitudes". So today, say a prayer through the intercession of Bl. Pier Giorgio and celebrate this great man's life who shows us what being a young Catholic means - to strive for holiness at every moment in both joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain - that God is our all in all - that heaven is our goal! As he always said, "Verso l'alto!" "To the heights!"

It is such a gift to have a recent increase of beatified and canonized young adults who lived within the last 100 years. There is something about looking at a photograph of a saint that makes receiving the gift of sanctity seem like a real possibility. For more information about Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, visit this site. The site includes a wealth of information about Bl. Pier Giorgio, including this prayer for his intercession:

"O Father, you gave to the young Pier Giorgio Frassati the joy of meeting Christ and of living his faith in the service of the poor and the sick; through his intercession may we, too, walk the path of the beatitudes and follow the example of his generosity, spreading the spirit of the Gospel in society. Through Christ our Lord, Amen." +Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini, Archbishop of Turin

"Although I have lived through much darkness, under harsh totalitarian regimes, I have seen enough evidence to be unshakably convinced that no difficulty, no fear is so great that it can completely suffocate the hope that springs eternal in the hearts of the young. You are our hope, the young are our hope. [...] Do not let that hope die! Stake your lives on it! We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son." -- Pope John Paul II, World Youth Day 2002